FILE - In this Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015, file photo, a nurse administers a flu vaccine shot in Washington. On March 9, 2017, one of the greatest runs for the stock market in history is marking its eighth anniversary. Health insurance premiums have spiked well over 40 percent since 2008. Soaring drug and technology costs and the lack of a true market in which patients can hunt for the best deal all combine to push health care costs higher than inflation annually. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

More than 2,300 flu-related deaths reported in Texas

SAN ANTONIO -- There have been 2,355 flu-related deaths in the state of Texas during this flu season alone so far.

Health experts are still urging everyone to get a flu shot if you haven’t gotten one yet. The flu shots are in high demand.

“A lot more people have been actually coming up to us and asking us for it whereas before people are a bit resistant,” said Cristina Herrera, a pharmacist and clinical services manager.

Over the counter cold and flu medicine, like Tamiflu, is tough to find.

“That’s been flying off the shelves,” Herrera told us.

Dozens of people were waiting for a flu vaccine at a free immunization clinic put on by the Metro Health District.

Since October, the Department of State Health Services says more than 2,300 flu-related deaths have been reported using data from death certificates provided by the CDC. Here in South Texas, the flu has been a factor in more than 250 deaths.

“The majority of deaths that are related to flu have been to people who have been over 65,” said Lara Anton, a spokesperson for the DSHS.

Herrera believes statistics like this drive more and more people to get a vaccine.

“Many people state their family member their child has gotten the flu so they want to prevent it with themselves,” said Herrera.

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A report on the effectiveness of this year’s flu shot won’t be out until mid-February. Doctors and pharmacists still say it’s the best protection, but anti-viral medications may lessen the effects of the flu if you do become sick.

“So ideally that medication should be prescribed within the first couple of days of you feeling the fever,” said Herrera. “That will reduce the flu by one to two days.”